LAGOS – Resident doctors at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Lagos, on Monday urged the Federal Government to ensure uniformity in residency training in all health institutions.
The President of LUTH branch of the association, Dr Omojowolo Olubunmi, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
He warned that the association would not hesitate to join in the strike if the demands of the national body of the association were not met.
“Our parent body, National Association of Resident Doctors, has declared a three-day warning strike starting from today to be followed by an indefinite strike on July 1, if the issues raised are not attended to.
“Many of the issues raised by our national body are also what we have been fighting for locally.
“Now, one of the major problems is the issue of tenure of residency training, guidelines on residency training; that is the number one thing that we are fighting for both at the national and the local levels.
“The Federal Government has set up an intermediary committee and it came up with an interim report.
“But, the process has been so sluggish and we expect this thing to be brought to conclusion immediately so that there will be uniformity in residency training in all institutions in Nigeria.“
Olubunmi also appealed to the Federal Government and other well-meaning Nigerians to intervene for a resolution of the crisis in the nation’s health institutions.
Skeletal services were being rendered at the Accident and Emergency Unit and the Out Patient Department of the hospital, while house officers were seen offering little services at the In Patient section.
The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) had on May 27, announced that the doctors would begin a three-day warning strike on June 2.
Its National President, Dr Jibril Abdullahi, said at a news conference in Abuja that the doctors’ grievances were based on residency training and re-integration of the doctors into the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
Other demands include payment of three months’ salary arrears owed doctors in the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri and non-implementation of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure. (NAN)
